Four out of five consumers want clear governance of AI interactions but less than a third of organisations currently have comprehensive policies
A new study by Genesys uncovers a critical disconnect between how companies govern AI and what consumers need to feel safe using it. While four out of five consumers surveyed said they want clear governance of AI interactions, less than a third (31%) of business leaders say their organisations have comprehensive, organisation-wide AI policies and oversight in place.
As agentic AI — autonomous systems that can think, act and make decisions independently — becomes more pervasive in enterprise customer experience (CX) strategies, 91% of CX leaders surveyed believe it will empower their organisations to deliver faster, more effective, personalised service. However, the data reveals a complex reality: While enthusiasm is high for the transformative value agentic AI can deliver, governance structures are lagging, posing risks to consumer trust, brand reputation and regulatory compliance.
“Agentic AI is opening up exciting new possibilities for how organisations serve their customers, but earning consumer trust has to grow alongside that progress,” said Olivier Jouve, chief product officer at Genesys. “As these systems take on more responsibility, it’s essential that businesses stay transparent and accountable in how they’re used. With the right guardrails in place from the start, companies can build lasting confidence by responsibly innovating customer experiences that deliver new levels of personalisation and effectiveness.”
“Agentic AI is opening up exciting new possibilities for how organisations serve their customers, but earning consumer trust has to grow alongside that progress.”
-Olivier Jouve, chief product officer at Genesys
Governance Gap Undermines Trust
More than 90% of CX leaders surveyed agree that strong governance is critical to: protect brand reputation (91%), build long-term trust and loyalty with customers (91%), and increase consumer comfort with autonomous systems (90%).
Yet many organisations are still unprepared. Over one-third of CX leaders (35%) admit they have little to no formal governance policies in place. Even more concerning, 28% of those without any policy at all still believe their organisations are ready to deploy agentic AI.
This governance gap becomes more troubling when viewed alongside consumers’ concerns. Many remain wary due to a lack of transparency around how their data is used and the absence of clear oversight.
In fact, clarity on how AI uses their personal data was the number one concern among respondents. Compounding this, 37% of consumers believe AI “hallucinates” or fabricates information — a view echoed by 59% of CX leaders, who acknowledge that hallucinations pose serious risks to customer loyalty, litigation and brand reputation. This perceived lack of reliability further undermines trust and reinforces the need for safeguards that ensure accuracy and accountability in AI-driven experiences.
The gap between what leaders know is necessary and what organisations have implemented is especially concerning given the clear demand from consumers for transparency and oversight. This makes it critical for businesses to close the gap before deploying agentic AI at scale.
Consumer Trust Remains Fragile
While 81% of CX leaders trust agentic AI with sensitive customer data, only 36% of consumers feel the same. This disconnect is sharper in higher stakes situations.
Businesses show strong confidence in using agentic AI for critical customer functions: 74% of businesses say they’re comfortable using the technology for billing, financial transactions and account security. Consumers, however, are much more hesitant: Only 35% are comfortable with agentic AI handling money transfers, 49% with resolving billing issues and 50% with updating personal information.
Still, the data reveals an important opportunity. More than half of consumers (58%) say they don’t care whether their issue is resolved by a human or AI, as long as its handled quickly and completely.
This signals that CX efficiency and effectiveness can overcome scepticism, but only when paired with transparency and accountability. To close the trust gap and innovate responsibly, organisations must scale in a consumer-centric way
